Regulations Governing the Election of ONE Full-time Student Member to the Council

1. Introduction
  1.1 The Council of the University shall include one full-time student elected from among full-time students and appointed by the Council (hereinafter referred to as the “Student Council Member”).
  1.2 All elections relating to the Student Council Member shall be governed by these Regulations.
2. Definition of terms
  2.1 The following terms used in these Regulations shall have the meanings ascribed to them in The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Ordinance: “University”, “Council” and “Ordinance”.
  2.2 “Candidate” shall mean a full-time student who, having been properly nominated for membership of the Council, has signified his/her willingness to be nominated and, if elected, his/her willingness to serve as a Council member.
  2.3 “Elector” shall mean a full-time student who has the right to vote in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance.
  2.4 “Full-time student” shall have the meaning ascribed thereto in Statute 10 of the statutes of the University.
  2.5 “Vote” shall mean the formal expression of choice for a Candidate, made in accordance with the provision of these regulations.
3. Election Officer
  The Academic Registrar shall serve as the Election Officer for any election of the Student Council Member and, unless stated otherwise, shall be responsible for the implementation and interpretation of these Regulations, in consultation with the Council, and for the proper conduct of the elections.
4. Election Timetable
  4.1 Elections shall be held in accordance with the following timetable:
    4.1.1 Preparation of Electoral Roll: the Election Officer will prepare the electoral roll as at the date of the announcement of the election (or by-election or re-polling as appropriate).
    4.1.2 Nomination Period: 14 calendar days, commencing the day after the announcement of an election.
    4.1.3 Second Nomination Period: not earlier than seven calendar days after the conclusion of the Nomination Period.
    4.1.4 Period for Withdrawal: not more than two calendar days after the conclusion of the Nomination Period or the Second Nomination Period, as the case may be.
    4.1.5 Publication of Nominations: not later than three calendar days after the conclusion of the Period for Withdrawal.
    4.1.6 Polling Period: not less than two calendar days, commencing not earlier than seven calendar days after the Publication of Nominations.
    4.1.7 Publication of the Results: not later than three calendar days after the conclusion of the Polling Period.
  4.2 By-elections shall follow a similar sequence of events.
5. Electoral Roll
  5.1 The Election Officer shall be responsible for ensuring that the electoral roll is prepared at the appointed time. His/her decision on eligibility for inclusion in the roll shall be final.
  5.2 The electoral roll shall consist of all full-time students.
6. Duration of appointment
  6.1 The term of office begins from the effective date of appointment (in normal cases beginning on 1 November) and ends on the first occurring 31 October (i.e. at maximum one year), unless the Council determines another date for the beginning/end of the term (e.g. in the case of a by-election which affects the start date).
  6.2 If the Student Council Member withdraws from his/her studies or his/her studies are terminated then his/her appointment to the Council will end on the date of withdrawal or termination.
  6.3 If before the appointment is made an elected Candidate withdraws from his/her studies or is terminated, then the Candidate with the next highest number of votes will be appointed, or in the case of there being no other Candidate then a by-election could be held.
  6.4 The Student Council Member may resign at any time by giving notice in writing to the Chairman of the Council and any such resignation shall take immediate effect.
7. Announcement of Election
  7.1 On the appointed day, the Election Officer shall issue an Announcement of the election stating the reason for the election, the date for the beginning of the term of appointment of the Candidate to be elected, and the timetable for specific stages of the election, as set out in Section 4 above.
  7.2 The Election Officer shall instruct that a copy of the Announcement, together with a copy of these Regulations, be placed on the election website.
8. Nominations
  8.1 Only Electors may put forward nominations and each Elector may participate, as proposer or seconder, in only one nomination. Nominations will be accepted only on Nomination Forms available from the Election Officer, and shall be signed by the proposer and by ten eligible seconders (i.e. Electors), and by the Candidate, who shall thereby confirm his/her willingness to stand and, if elected, his/her willingness to serve as a Council member.
  8.2 If the Candidate is not in Hong Kong during the Nomination Period to sign the Nomination Form, the proposer shall provide evidence of the Candidate’s consent, the validity of which shall be decided by the Election Officer.
  8.3 Nominations shall be submitted in a sealed envelope, to reach the Election Officer by 5:30 pm on the last day of the Nomination Period. Late nominations will not be accepted.
  8.4 If no nomination is received, a Second Nomination Period shall be declared. The length of the Second Nomination Period shall follow the timetable as stipulated in Section 4.1.3 above. In the event that the Second Nomination Period expires without receipt of a nomination, the nomination process shall be repeated with a new electoral roll after not less than six months have elapsed.
  8.5 If there is only one nomination, the Candidate nominated shall be deemed to have been elected unopposed and, notwithstanding Section 4 above, his/her name shall be published not later than three working days after the conclusion of the Period for Withdrawal.
  8.6 If there are two or more nominations, the Election Officer shall publish on the election website an announcement which shall include the names of Candidates nominated, together with the names of proposers and seconders, and details of the voting procedure. Where two or more nomination forms are received for the same Candidate, the first nomination form for the Candidate received by the Election Officer shall be regarded as the operative nomination.
  8.7 Candidates, or their proposers, may submit for publication by the Election Officer such biographical data as they deem appropriate in a form to be specified by the Election Officer, and the Candidates and proposers consent to their personal data being shown by virtue of making the submission.
9. Campaigning Activities and Guidelines
  Subject to any conditions set by the Election Officer in consultation with the Council, campaigning activities may be conducted directly or indirectly by a Candidate, provided that such activities are lawful, in line with conventional election practices that are appropriate to an institution of higher education and do not contravene the spirit of fair play, as defined in the published Campaign Guidelines. All Candidates, their agents and Electors shall abide by the Campaign Guidelines published on the election website – failure to do so may result in one of the actions laid out in Section 13.4 below and/or disciplinary action.
10. Voting Procedure
  10.1 Elections shall take place on the appointed days at Polling Stations or other venues designated for such purpose by the Election Officer and/or by using an electronic voting system approved by the Election Officer.
  10.2 Each Elector will be entitled to cast one vote and may vote for one Candidate only. The vote cast by each Elector shall be secret and no attempt shall be made to identify the votes cast by other Electors. Any full-time student who is found to have violated this regulation will be subject to disciplinary action.
  10.3 Each Elector shall cast his/her vote in person by presenting his/her University student identity card at a Polling Station or by online identity verification through an electronic voting system, and no proxy vote will be accepted.
11. Determination and Publication of Results
  11.1 The Election Officer shall appoint and publish the name of at least one person, who shall not be an Elector, to serve as independent Returning Officer for the election. The Returning Officer(s) shall not participate in the election.
  11.2 All Candidates shall be notified of the day and time fixed for counting the votes, and are expected to be present at the count. If any Candidate(s) do not attend the counting for any reason it will proceed in their absence.
  11.3 On the appointed day, in the case of physical ballot papers, the Returning Officer(s) shall proceed to count the votes cast or in the case of electronic polling the Returning Officer(s) will receive the system outcome report. In either case, the Election Officer shall observe the process until completion and may then call for a recount or a new report if he/she decides it is necessary.
  11.4 Decision on the validity of a vote shall rest with the Election Officer.
  11.5 In the event of a tie in which no single Candidate has received more votes than any other Candidate, the Election Officer shall determine the result of the election by drawing lots. If any Candidate receiving the same highest number of votes fails to be present at the count, the Election Officer may draw the lot on behalf of the Candidate. The Election Officer shall declare the Candidate on whom the lot falls as elected.
  11.6 At the conclusion of the count, the Election Officer shall confirm the number of votes cast and the number of invalid votes, and sign a statement to this effect.
  11.7 The Election Officer shall publish an announcement of the results on the election website, including the name of the successful Candidate, the number of votes cast for each Candidate and the total number of votes.
     
12. Appointment
  12.1 Upon the announcement of the results, the Election Officer shall submit, through the Council Secretariat, the name of the elected full-time student to the Chairman of the Council for appointment by the Council. The appointment will be made with effect from the next meeting of the Council. As soon as reasonably practicable following the appointment, the Council Secretariat shall inform the Candidate accordingly.
  12.2 An appointed candidate agrees to abide by the relevant Ordinances and other codes of conduct pertaining to their term of office on the Council.
13. Complaints and Appeals
  13.1 A complaint against any of the Electors, Candidates, and/or the persons who execute the various procedures in the election (excluding the Election Officer) shall be lodged in writing with the Election Officer at any time but not later than 48 hours after the Publication of the Results. The Election Officer and the Dean of Students (the investigation officers) shall investigate any complaint so lodged.
  13.2 A complaint against the Election Officer shall be lodged with the Council Secretariat at any time but not later than 48 hours after the Publication of the Results. The Chairman of the Council, together with the President,  shall appoint appropriate senior personnel (the investigation officers) of the University to investigate such complaint.
  13.3 If, in the view of the investigating officers (as specified in Section 13.1 and Section 13.2 above), the results of the investigation indicate that the complaint is not justified, then the investigation officers shall rule that the election result as already announced should stand and they shall publish the ruling as soon as reasonably practicable. No further recourse is available and the matter is considered closed.
  13.4 If, in the view of the investigating officers the results of the investigation indicate that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the complaint is justified, then they shall, depending on the circumstances of each case, adopt one of the following rulings, in their absolute discretion as they think fit, without an obligation to give any reasons for the decision to the complainant(s):-
    (i) the Candidate or the appointed Student Council Member against whom the complaint has been lodged and found justified, be disqualified or his/her appointment be recommended for termination and the person who has received the next highest number of valid votes be declared elected instead; or
    (ii) the polling which has taken place be declared null and void, and that a new polling exercise be conducted; or
    (iii) the whole election which has taken place be declared null and void, and that a new election be conducted.
      The ruling shall be published by the Election Officer (in the case of complaints made under Section 13.1) or the Council Secretariat (in the case of complaints made under Section 13.2) as soon as reasonably practicable.
  13.5 Any appeal against a ruling pursuant to Section 13.4 shall be lodged with the Election Officer (in the case of complaints made under Section 13.1) or with the Council Secretariat (in the case of complaints made under Section 13.2) in writing within 5 calendar days of the publication of the ruling. Appeals will only be considered on the grounds of procedural irregularity, new information that could not have been submitted previously or material errors in the findings of the investigation officers. Any such appeal against the decision made in Section 13.4 above will be heard by the Standing Committee of the Council, in accordance with such procedure as it considers appropriate, and whose decision shall be final.
14. Records Retention
 

All polling records shall be destroyed by the Election Officer either one month after the Publication of the Results, or, in the event a complaint is substantiated, after the outcome of the investigation into the complaint has been confirmed, whichever is later.
15. Revision of Regulations
 

The Council may, at its absolute discretion, change these Regulations generally or for the purpose of a particular election. Any change to these Regulations shall be published on the election website.
       

University Council
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology